Jerusalem: Muslim worshippers over the age of
50 returned to pray at Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem's Old City on Friday, a day
after Israeli authorities shut down all access to the sacred compound following
violence in East Jerusalem. The Muslim quarter of the Old City was calm early
in the day, the Muslim holy day, and police said pre-dawn prayers had passed
off without incident. However, security was tight ahead of midday prayers, when
more people were expected to attend. Israeli border police increased their
presence in the cobblestone alleyways of the Old City and around the Muslim
access points or gates into the Al Aqsa compound, checking identification
papers closely.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
described the closure of Al Aqsa as "tantamount to a declaration of
war" by Israel. His Fatah party and Hamas had called for a "day of
rage" in Jerusalem to protest at the closure of the holy site that was
partially reopened late on Thursday. Rainfall in Jerusalem, the first in weeks,
looked likely to dampen any protests. Locals said it was the first time Al Aqsa
had been closed to all visitors - Muslims, Jews and tourists - since 2000, when
the second Intifada or Palestinian uprising began. But Jordanian religious
authorities said it was first full closure since 1967. Israel police frequently
limit access to Al Aqsa to women and Muslim men over the age of 40 or 50 when
they are concerned about potential clashes at the site. It was not clear when
the compound would be reopened to all Muslim worshippers. "I normally go
five times a day to pray, but the police are not letting me today," said
Ahmed Abu Zaaror, 21, who runs a fruitstand in the Muslim quarter of the Old
City. Asked if he was angry at the situation he said: "What can I say? I
have to keep all my anger inside." TENSION HIGH Tensions have been
high on the streets of East Jerusalem and around the Al Aqsa compound for
weeks, following the Gaza war and Israel's moves to expand settlement building
in eastern areas of the city, which the Palestinians want for a capital of an
independent state alongside Gaza and the West Bank.
Al Aqsa, which Jews refer to as
Temple Mount, is a particularly sensitive issue. The 38-acre (15 hectares)
compound houses the 7th century Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa mosque, from
where Mohammad is said to have ascended into heaven. It is the third holiest
place in Islam. It was also home to two ancient Jewish temples, the second one
destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD, and is the holiest place in Judaism. Under
the rules governing access to Al Aqsa, which is administered by Jordanian
religious authorities, Jews are allowed into the compound but are not permitted
to pray.
In recent years, there has been a
push by far-right Jewish activists to be allowed to pray at the site, a
campaign that has heightened tensions with the Muslim community. The leader of
that campaign, an American-born activist called Yehuda Glick, was shot and
seriously wounded this week by a suspected Palestinian gunman. Israeli police
tracked the shooting suspect down to the Palestinian neighbourhood of Abu Tor,
in the shadow of the Old City, on Thursday morning and, after an exchange of
gunfire, shot him dead, leading to fierce clashes on the streets of the
district and fears among locals of another Palestinian uprising.
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